Paul Rand: American Modernist

by Jessica Helfand

Book by Jessica Helfand

Genres: Design

86 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Jessica Helfand is a designer, artist, and writer. Educated at Yale University, where she has taught for more than twenty years, she is a cofounder of Design Observer and the author of numerous books on visual and cultural criticism. The first Henry Wolf Resident at the American Academy in Rome, Helfand has been a Director's Guest at the Civitella Foundation and a fellow at the Bogliasco Foundation. She will be the artist in residence at the California Institute of Technology in the winter of 2020.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book containing two essays by Jessica Helfand about Paul Rand, the highly-influential 20th century graphic designer.

As a practicing designer, the profession increasingly feels blue collar and collaborative, so it was interesting to read these unabashedly academic essays about a lone genius. Through her lovely writing, Helfand describes a lot about Rand using few words, capturing a man whose life was paradoxical: a much-loved curmudgeon, neck-deep in academia yet generating a wide body of professional work.

There are many books about Paul Rand, including four he wrote himself. American Modernist isn't the most essential, but it might be the most pithy, interesting, and insightful.